Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry deserves an extension

The Suns need to make a statement. Not with empty promises or fancy marketing campaigns but with a move that screams, "We have a plan!"

They need to give Alvin Gentry an extension.

Training camp opened Tuesday, and the mood of Suns fans can be best described as skeptical with a hint of curiosity. They have accepted life without Steve Nash. They understand the team is in rebuilding mode. They want to care but remain mystified by the low-profile, unconventional management figures calling the shots.

Showing a commitment to Gentry, who is in the final year of his deal, would be not only the right choice but the right message.

"It's not an issue for this season," Suns owner Robert Sarver said Tuesday. "I don't think it's an issue with Alvin, and it's not an issue for us. I've worked with Alvin for the last eight years. I think he's treated the organization fairly, and I think we've treated him fairly."

It's true the landscape in the NBA has changed in the area of coaching contracts. Teams feel less urgency to get things done.

Scott Brooks, who took Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals, received a four-year deal this summer just as his other contract expired. Chicago's Tom Thibodeau signed a four-year extension Monday. The team had picked up an option for 2012-13 after last season, but talks to extend the contract stalled over value.

The difference, of course, is those coaches are coming off successful seasons, and extensions felt inevitable.

Gentry has three full seasons with this team. In 2010, the Suns went to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Lakers in six games. In the subsequent two, the team finished a combined 73-75 and missed the playoffs both times.

But how much of the latter struggles were Gentry's fault?

Success in the NBA has more to do with personnel than anything. A lottery pick can change the fortunes of a team in a heartbeat. A change in coaching rarely has the same impact.

The key is finding the right fit of coach and team.

Terry Porter? Bad fit.

Alvin Gentry? Good fit.

In this NBA, coaching is about player development and understanding the pulse of your players. There is an X's and O's element -- matchups, substitutions -- but it's not the end all.

By the Suns not giving Gentry a contract extension at the end of last year, it felt like they were setting him up for failure.

If the team starts out slow, the vultures will circle. Nationally, the lame-duck coach is always a hot story. Who needs that distraction?

The thing the Suns need more than anything is stability.

And a coach who is adept at working with different personalities.

"I do think Alvin's got a lot of good qualities that will help in integrating the team we have," said Sarver, who has a good relationship with Gentry. "It will be a challenge. He's got his hands full this year."

The Suns have several players this season with high upsides who have underachieved.

Start with Michael Beasley, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft behind Derrick Rose and ahead of Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. He was up and down in his two years each with Miami and Minnesota, but many in this league believe that, with the right coaching, Beasley can be a star again.

"I think one day he may lead the league in scoring," Boston coach Doc Rivers told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "He has a Carmelo Anthony ability to score the ball. He's a matchup problem every night."

Sounds like just the type of player the Suns could use.

And one that would thrive under Gentry's tutelage.

Steve Nash and Grant Hill often spoke positively of Gentry publicly, but they did so privately, too. Both have been around the league long enough to know what works.

Getting the most out of Goran Dragic would also benefit the Suns. He is not the same timid, inconsistent player he was during his first stop here, but he also has the talent to be more than what he was in Houston.

Gentry was here during Dragic's first stop. He knows what buttons to push.

And despite the Suns' struggles the past two seasons, it's not like management should be worried about players tuning Gentry out. Most of the faces on this club are new.

It is not all doom and gloom with this organization. The off-season revealed a respectable effort by management.